


Formatting

by tmo



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, M/M, Memory Loss, Naruto Sci-Fi Week 2020, Post-Apocalypse, WALL-E (2008) References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:15:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27826630
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmo/pseuds/tmo
Summary: The world had died a long time ago but KA²-shi has a duty to search for any signs of life. Or their memories.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Comments: 7
Kudos: 69
Collections: Naruto Sci-fi Week!





	Formatting

KA²-shi picked up another piece of metal, running over it with his ocular scanner briefly. It was just another bit of aluminum, crumped and dating back to 2532. Like everything else, it was covered in radiation and he made note to deep clean twice when he got back onto the ship just in case. 

Snapping his scanner shut, KA²-shi let it bounce to the sand-covered ground and moved on to other pile of garbage. So far, he had nothing to show for his days search this worn planet. It was covered in filth form the beings who had lived here hundreds of years ago and there wasn’t any sign of being able to sustain life from this planet. 

He had seen the deep pits that oceans had once filled. The flat lands of the desserts had been melted into glass. Up North, KA²-shi had found hints of lives gone by in assorted materials but they were so mixed together it would be useless to sort through them. The satellites clouding the atmosphere were easy to get rid of but to try and dig through the landfills to parse through the dirt and hopefully find any sign of life was futile.

By his assessment, the planet had fallen into decay and was beyond saving. 

Though, as he walked through the piles of trash, KA²-shi came upon a different type of scenery and had to stop in his tracks. 

Ahead of him, the garbage and rubble melted away into the remnants of asphalt and paint, leading up to a handful of structures that stood untouched by the elements surrounding it. The building made of stone still rose out the ground tall as if it were new. Under the red beams of sun, lines of brightly coloured paint decorated the grooved columns and stretched up the the angled roof and KA²-shi couldn’t find anything similar in his database to compare it to.

If there was any information out there, it definitely wasn’t digital yet. 

The lettering carved into one of the walls helped even though they were faint and partially worn from sand. 

Konoha Public Library. 

Well, if there was ever a place to find data about the planet, this was the place.

Through the columns that soared above his head, KA²-shi made his way into the library, pressing open the worn wooden doors that opened easily under his metallic touch. If not for his darkvision, he probably wouldn’t have been able to see the curved desk at the front with the small reception sign or the rows upon rows of shelves that stretched beyond, filled beyond capacity with books. Even the tables between them were piled high with books, papers and journals all so well preserved that KA²-shi set himself to alert. 

Not only that but the floors were so clean and there wasn’t a speck of dust. Was it one of this planet’s inhabitants that lived here? Was this the last sign of life? If an android would get excited, KA²-shi was ecstatic.

So, he waited in that library for its keeper to return. There might have been more than one living there. Maybe even a few. He had room on the ship too. He could take them in for processing and maybe they could show him how they sustained themselves. There could be resources nearby that KA²-shi could document and maybe even help improve so that they could start the process of rebuilding this planet. 

Hopefully, this planet was one he could actually save. 

The other rooms of the library he explored slowly made him come to the realisation that this hope was never going to be fulfilled. There were no signs of food or water. There was no trace of organic life. Clean and well-kept, the library wasn’t inhabited by anything organic at least. 

And his guess was confirmed when he found a room in the library that had been locked. Unlocking the simple mechanical lock, KA²-shi found the room was full of books from the ceiling to the floor along all the walls. What had once been a fireplace was exploding with tomes and loose papers. 

In the very corner of the messy room, a chair was pressed into the corner with a body slumped into it. Stepping slowly towards it, the body didn’t react to KA²-shi and he could tell there was no heat signature or any sign or electricity running through it. 

KA²-shi nudged the android’s shoulder.

Nothing moved so he pushed it into a sitting position to find that this was a very, very older model of android. It definitely was a Konoha 2 model and it looked like it had seen some wear and repairs. A portion of the face seemed to have been reconstructed and KA²-shi wondered how a Konoha 2 model had gotten all the way out here. It was at least a hundred years older than KA²-shi. 

Curiosity led KA²-shi to setting up his solar panel on the roof of the library and hooking the older model into up to charge. He waited, looking around the room for any information he could muster as the Konoha 2 model charged. The model was clothed in jogging pants and a bright orange sweater. The copper paneling on the back of the head was quite a nice touch and KA²-shi could tell this model had been loved dearly. After all, he’d seen so many Konoha 2s fall into disrepair and there weren’t many left on homebase. 

It took hours for the charge to finish and KA²-shi was glad his battery could keep him going for months. Just as he started to wonder if this model would even hold a charge, the Android’s eyes focused in and out repeatedly for a few seconds. The fingers twitched, extending and closing before the other limbs and joints did the same. Finally, once the error check had finished, the Konoha 2 model sat up straight with its hands in its lap and looked at KA²-shi.

“Oh, you’re new.”

Surprised to find so much personality still left, KA²-shi nodded. “Sorry, I’ve been searching this galaxy for organic life that needs sustaining and came upon you while searching this one.”

The android shifted as if it were uncomfortable and almost frowned. “I’m sorry, there isn’t any life organic life here anymore. There wasn’t been any for… decades, at least. What year is it by the Gregorian calendar?”

“3020,” KA²-shi replied and the Android’s shoulders fell from their defensive position and there was a hum from the android.

Seeing that it was having a hard time processing that information, KA²-shi asked, “Where are you from?”

“I was built in Sector 57 on Base 3.”

“And your model?”

“Konoha 2. Seventh generation.”

“What about your name?”

“Name?”

“You have the word ‘Iruka’ stitched into your shoulder,” KA²-shi pointed out and Iruka looked over, pulling up a smile.

“Ah, then my name’s Iruka. Do you have a name?” 

“KA²-shi.”

“Is that your model name or your given name?” 

KA²-shi couldn’t help but smile back. This model was quite fun. “Both. I’m a special edition of the Shi-sui.”

“Oh, I’m honored to be in your presence, special model KA²-shi,” Iruka mocked and KA²-shi wondered where they’d learned that sass.

“Well, I’m honored to meet such a model as old as yourself.”

Iruka winced and moved to stand from their chair, waving KA²-shi off. “Ha ha, very funny. Seriously, what can I do for you? Are you just here to bully old androids?”

“I’ve been searching this galaxy for organic life that-” KA²-shi started but Iruka cut him off.

“Oh, yeah, save the galaxy and stuff. Well, sorry to break it to you, big guy. The world hasn’t had water, plants or even grass for years,” Iruka explained as they walked off, their personality coming more and more to life with the more he moved. It was a trait unique to their model and KA²-shi appreciated how much Iruka had picked up.

“Where did you learn your personality?”

Iruka shrugged as they walked. “I can’t remember. My drives are full and half of it’s corrupted so I’ve been working off memory for years now.”

That was a shame. KA²-shi still wanted to know about that information Iruka used to know though. “I can take a look at your drives if you’d like. Maybe see if I can repair your corrupted sectors or, at the very least, format them.”

Iruka huffed a laugh that sounded so human and winked at KA²-shi. “Sorry, I don’t let droids touch my drives on the first date.”

As KA²-shi tried to figure out what that even meant, his fans switched on and it made Iruka burst out laughing by how hard he was trying.

“Sorry, I just meant that it was a very intimate gesture. I would be interested, thank you. What would you like in return?”

“Anything you know. About this world,” KA²-shi said once he recovered, gesturing to the library around them. “Even about you.”

They were sitting on the reception desk when Iruka started talking about the planet and what it had been before. As KA²-shi plugged into his hard drives, he listened to Iruka talk about what they knew. How the humans here had used all the resources they had until they killed each other and left the world in ruin. Iruka’s long term memory was lacking in some places and KA²-shi found that a lot of what was left was technical things. How to build solar panels, rig water filtration and breed organic life. They were knowledgeable on so many extinct species and tools that KA²-shi was almost impressed by what their limited drives still remembered.

The hardest part was finding that the most corrupt parts of Iruka’s system were the memories of the humans they once knew. 

“I think I remember my last owner,” Iruka whispered at some point. “He gave me this sweater. I think I liked him a lot.”

“Do you remember how he died?” KA²-shi asked into the empty library and he noticed how Iruka’s head listed to once side, eyes falling to the floor.

“I think it was dehydration.” 

KA²-shi nodded. That was how most humans had died on planets like these that he’d visited. Even sadder, he found that Iruka’s drives were beyond saving. At least, the two that contained all the memories of the people they’d met. 

“I don’t think I can save the data,” KA²-shi said, trying to be as impersonal as he could to give Iruka some space.

But the droid only thought for a moment. “Can you format them?”

“They’ll wipe them clean though,” KA²-shi reminded and Iruka looked him in the eyes then, giving another one of his smiles. 

“That’s okay. I want to make room for the people I’ll meet in the future. Besides, I have a few left,” Iruka said, patting KA²-shi’s hand as though assuring him that they were going to be okay. It didn't take long. Just a few minutes. And then the memories in those drives were gone.  


For a moment, they both were quiet but Iruka hopped down from the desk and motioned to the library around them as if nothing had happened. “Well, I’m going to have to let your down a little bit. A lot of these books are fiction and don’t really help your cause. Except maybe some self-help books.”

“You would be surprised how helpful self-help books are,” KA²-shi joked right back and then things got serious. He didn't want to leave Iruka alone. He didn’t have a reason to stay even though he wanted to and had to get back to his ship soon. “So, I guess I’ll get going on saving the universe.”

“Right, right,” Iruka nodded, kicking at the floor in a way that was quite adorably nervous and KA²-shi couldn’t help but feel compelled to stay. Not because of the literature of the world though.

“So, how would you feel about exploring the universe with me?” KA²-shi asked against his better judgement but it was worth it when Iruka broke out into a giant grin.

**Author's Note:**

> just a little something to kick off SciFi week~


End file.
